No Gods, No Masters
by Beckon
Summary: Sometimes it's all about fighting the struggles of outside complications and the raw emotion of overcoming their own differences; refusing to accept the lives that have been chosen for them.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I've had this story typed up for awhile now but haven't figured out if I want to keep it five chapters or expand it to ten. This first chapter feels really raw and for some reason, I'm surprised at how well I felt like I pulled it off. This is definitely a couple I'd like to type more of if I had better ideas for. **

_Who will you share your bed of roses with? _

"Tesla!"

Damnit! Lady Harribel was going to be mad that she was out this late without her authorization and without either SunSun or Apache with her. But she just had this gut feeling. Some kind of gut feeling that told her she should be out here looking for him. She had all of Los Noches to look through though and the place was like an endless desert. Where the hell would she start looking anyways? Where the fuck was there even a starting point?

Sighing, she paused slightly in her journey and glanced back to the palace-like structure behind her. She would only be gone for a few hours at most and be back by sunrise. It's not like it was going to be something major if she decided to take a midnight stroll to cure a case of insomnia- that was going to be her story for it anyways, should anyone become suspicious. But then again, knowing half the people around here, they didn't give a shit about what was going on. Lady Harribel might be a bit concerned and curious but it wasn't like she was going to pry into her business- unlike Apache and SunSun who would be more than willing to make her life hell over it. She had no worries about running into any of the other Espadas; they kept to themselves for the most part and the few interactions they did have were with one another and usually had to be monitored or broken up. She honestly couldn't see how Lady Harribel could stand being around the male Espadas for so long without having the need to hurt one of them- although she had came fairly close to putting a few of them back in their places.

But she didn't come out here to think about Lady Harribel or the other Espadas. She came out here to find him, if he even was out here. She had picked up on his energy a few moments ago but the signal had been faint and she wasn't even sure she had caught the correct direction of it. Being outside in the open now…there was a vast landscape around her that offered different varieties of where he had gone. There were a few caves off to the East or maybe the flat lands to the West; in the North, there was a couple of deep gorges to be played in and in the South, it was possible to test ones strength in the crumbling mountainsides. Or maybe he was just caught up somewhere behind the sand hills and dead tree limbs. A quiet, almost aggravated sigh left her lips as she shifted her eyes to try and catch any sort of movement aside from the roaming sand winds. There was nothing out here to help her. The frequent nighttime sand storms blocked out a majority of her vision and disrupted her from even picking up on a scent. If she was going to have to do this manually, then so be it. It's not like she had anything else planned for the night, not to mention she was the one who had drug herself out into the open like this.

"Where are you?" she whispered as she slowly walked along the tumbling sand hills; each footstep sunk slightly into the unsettled sand as she glanced back to see the path she had carved out for herself. It would all be gone in a few minutes, but it was nice to think there would be a clear path to follow on the way back. But this was Hueco Mundo… there was never a clear path to follow.

She should try calling his name again but that would attract the attention of anything and anyone around and at this hour, she didn't feel like dealing with them. Why the hell couldn't she make up her mind? If she came all the way out here then she should disregard anything that got in her way; she shouldn't be standing here complaining about it.

* * *

"There you are! Do you know how long I've spent looking for you?" she spoke; her tone on the edge of scolding as she watched as the blonde-haired man turned slightly at her voice. "You know, it's not easy trying to track someone down in this godforsaken desert of a place."

He narrowed his eye slightly at her words and watched as she set her hands on her hips in a dominating, defying gesture. Her white skirt billowed slightly in the wind as she continued to close the space between them; long, dark Amazon legs cut out her path as wide hips rolled with every step. "I apologize for the inconvenience. I wasn't even aware I was lost."

She arched an eyebrow slightly at his unusual tone; it wasn't sincere but it wasn't entirely rude either. But she noted how he seemed to roll the words clearly and hint that he wasn't at all inconvenienced by her appearance. "What are you doing all the way out here?"

"I needed to go for a walk and somehow ended up out here." he answered; looking back out to desert around them. "I just haven't found a reason to go back just yet. But why are you exactly here? Did you come all the way out here to find me?"

"No I came out here because I thought someone was tapping on my window." she replied sarcastically; letting one hand fall away from her hip to brush fingertips against her thigh. "I just… I guess I had a gut feeling to come out all this way. I can't really explain it."

He sighed quietly before he carefully took her hands into his own; wrapping those cinnamon fingers between his leather ones. "So you felt the need to chase it?"

"Just maybe." she whispered. "But maybe… I felt the need to chase it down and suffocate it."

* * *

He didn't resist to the way she moved her body to cover his own as her hands worked to remove his uniform. Fingers tugged away the white material from his pale flesh as her darker lips continued to strike and tease his own; the tip of her tongue wanting and needing to engage him in a corrupted sexual encounter. The thin material slipped away easily and exposed his skin as he helped her dispose of the uniform top and let it slide out of sight. One hand grabbed at the back of her neck as he pulled her down on top of him and made the first move to pleasure himself in her mouth; his tongue engaging her own as the soft embrace hardened in just a few seconds. She moved to tangle her fingers in his blonde hair as she allowed herself to fall fully against his broad figure; using her body weight to toughen the embrace as she forced his head back and gave herself the upper hand. He seemingly surrendered himself to her and allowed her to have full control as her tongue continued to ravish his mouth. His quiet nature was proven as she could barely even get a moan to stroke from his chest but this only challenged her further to work harder for it. Fingers tightened slightly in his hair as she pressed her hips down into his own; grinding them slightly to hear just that small vibrate of his vocal cords. That was exactly what she wanted. She wanted to hear her prey cry out when it was caught.

Like it was the kiss of death, she eagerly drained him of any remaining oxygen and held him over till she had to draw away; the faint light-headedness caught up with them as they gasped madly for fresh air. She could hear his breathing shift and jump slightly as his chest jerked with each breath. Carefully pushing herself from the support of his body, she balanced well on her knees and continued to softly caress his lips with her own; carelessly embracing them when needed. Her hands moved to strum along his throat before they pressed fully against his firm sternum; feeling the light jumps in his breathing, she moved to lower her hands and find the cause. His fingers tangled in her thick locks as he carefully supported her and allowed for only their lips and tips of their tongues to touch. He could feel her warm touch drop to the rough shape of his ribcage and felt most of it shift painfully underneath her hands. A sharp inhale gasped at his lips as her fingers prodded the broken and bruised pieces.

"How recent are these?" she questioned softly; moving her hands to a less painful area of his body.

"Going in two hours now." he answered.

She was almost desperate to say something but they had had this argument before and had gotten nowhere in it. Things weren't going to change overnight or even at all, knowing how Nnoitra was, but that didn't stop her from at least hoping it would. Dipping her head down, she buried it into the curve of his neck and gave in to his body once more; laying down so that she rest completely on top of him. His hands came up and rested gently on her back as he wrapped her in his arms and cradled her against his chest. His scent was covered by sweat and blood with a hint of mild hurt and pain; something she had picked up early on in this kind of commitment.

He used his body to slowly roll her over onto her back so that he now covered her instead. His lips caressed her own as fingers carefully tangled in her thick locks; the tip of his tongue seemed to dance on her lips and seduce them to follow him. She followed easily into his motion and allowed herself to be pulled into his kiss; her hands cradled his jawline as she traced the teal marking on his right cheek with the flat of her thumb. The embrace was slow and gentle as they both did their best to reduce the amount of physical lust that seemed to curl their bodies in towards one another. It was a battle they were both fighting and losing simultaneously.

"I would hate to say we really shouldn't…" she started.

"Then don't."

**XXX**

He felt perfect inside of her. The friction of his body moving against her own as his hips gave gentle rolls between her thighs; each thrust aimed perfectly to please her as he rubbed back and forth across her sensitive walls. Her entire body shuddered as he pushed inside of her once more; her body constricting at first before it willingly gave into his presence. She needed this; she wanted this. She loved hearing him pant as her body offered the warm sanctuary he desired; to feel his body move in perfect time with her own as he gave her perfect thrusts one after the other. Her fingers clawed at his shoulders; pulling flesh away to little or no concern from him. His hands dug into the stiff mattress underneath them, that rocked and squealed with every heavy movement that generated a thick layer of sweat for the both of them. He tucked his head down by her shoulder as her fingers ran through his blonde hair; giving up on the already bloodied marks that cursed his back, neck and shoulders. His breath was so hot against her cinnamon flesh as she ran the tip of her tongue along the curve of his ear; listening to him groan as she let out a much cooler breath against his flesh. She could feel his hips starting to grind down against her own a bit more as each thrust came deeper inside of her. Her fingers cradled the back of his skull as she panted heavily in his ear and felt her body fall so close to climaxing she could already feel her muscle closing together.

His motions slowed purposely as he could sense her oncoming release and wanted to drag the moment on. Part of her hated him for it and part of her wanted to do the same because she knew the moment it was over… he would have to leave. And if there was anything more she wanted right now, it was to have him with her for longer than just the night. She pushed her lips against his own and teased him with the open-mouth embrace, something he seemed to both enjoy and hate at the same time. He moved his hands to caress her face as his body lowered completely against her own. Fingertips softly traced circles into her skin as he endured their embrace for as long as oxygen would allow them to.

"Tesla…"

"I know…" he whispered.

"Let me say it." she replied as she moved her hands to cup his jawline. "I love you."

He carefully leaned down and pressed the cool bone of his hollow piece against her warm forehead; his eye never once leaving her own. "I love you too."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Yeah, just noticed how how linear this story runs with We Were One lol I think I even used some of the same lines. Last time I type two stories at the same time. **

That night occurred a few months ago to this day.

It took them all night to say goodbye when it came time for them to depart from one another. She remembered his reluctance to leave that night but the hesitation he had for being late for his duties. It was always a mix of conflict when it came down to their wants and needs, which were always overshadowed by their overlaying responsibilities. Both of them were too headstrong and loyal to even think about disobeying their reigning Espadas, which is why they always spent the early morning hours trying hard to say goodnight all the while avoiding a goodbye.

That was also the night that Apache wouldn't forgive her for because they apparently sounded like 'two ravage animals attempting to crossbreed' all night long. Those were her words exactly. The woman always had a way of… describing situations.

But it was that night that now brought her here.

"Lady Harribel. Can we talk?"

She watched as the blonde-haired Espada paused in what she had been doing and turned back at her question. Her hands slowly setting aside a stack of papers that had been preoccupying her attention until now. For a moment, she felt frozen on the spot under those blue eyes.

"What is it?"

But it was her soft tone that slowly reassured her and helped to loosen up her tight nerves a bit as a long, quiet sigh left her lips. "It's… I wanted to speak to you about Tesla."

Those blue eyes now narrowed slightly as she brought her arms up to cross underneath her breasts. "Did he hurt you?"

The question caught her slightly off-guard but the stern tone in the woman's voice… she knew the Espada wasn't going to take the answer lightly, which is why she had to word it carefully. "What? No." she answered quickly before the urge and curiosity to question the woman's words was too much to conquer. "Why… why would you ask that?"

"Because, you are my Fracción, Mila Rose, and I won't stand for anyone or anything that would compromise your well being- no matter his significance to you." Harribel spoke swiftly but with the undertone of a softer message. "Whether you pity him or not."

The words came across as hard but she knew the woman meant well. With how life in Hueco Mundo had been… she was just being protective of them. She had always been and always will be, regardless of the situations. It was comforting to know that should anything happen, Lady Harribel would be there for them in a seconds notice but… that wasn't what she needed right now. That certainly wasn't what she wanted to talk about. "I-… this has nothing to do with pity, Lady Harribel."

"Then what? What is it about him that you feel needs to be brought to my attention?" Harribel asked; watching as the Fracción member seemed almost less than enthusiastic to talk to her about it now. "You know I can't do anything about him, right? Whether this is or is not about how his status as a Fracción is treated-"

Here was the moment of truth. No backing out now.

The words that she had rehearsed earlier seemed to blur from her memory and left her stumbling slightly for an answer or at least the introduction of one. She drew in a long breath and held it in her chest before she released it in just a few words. "I'm pregnant."

There was no doubt about the woman's reaction as her arms dropped clean back to her sides; those blue eyes showed a small hint of surprise as they widened just slightly. Just those two words alone were enough to cause an unknowing amount of silence between them as she waited hesitantly for the woman to response; feeling widely uncomfortable and vulnerable in the thick silence.

"I…" the Espada tried to start.

"He's the father."

Those three words seemed even more difficult for the woman to handle as she leaned slightly back against the table behind her; one hand moved to carefully massage the space between her eyes while the other one kept a firm and sturdy grip on the table's edge.

"Lady Harribel?"

"I… are you sure?" the words seemed to struggle to free themselves from the blonde-haired Espada as her overall body position and expression gave away her continuing sense of surprise.

"Yes." she nodded.

"And he's the-"

"Yes."

She watched as her reigning Espada fell silence once more and moved her hand to cover her eyes completely in thought. As much as she tried, the continuing feeling of vulnerability welled up in her body and coursed the sense of discomfort throughout her blood. Concerned with how the woman was silent in taking the full news, she slowly stepped forward to get closer to her.

"Lady?"

"Mila Rose, are you aware of the difficulties and the position you just put not only yourself in, but myself as well?"

"It's not like we intended this, Lady Harribel." she quickly defended; stopping slightly when those blue eyes locked onto hers once more. "Do you think I would be reckless enough to do this on purpose? Do you think I would be careless enough to know what this might do to him and still go through with it? Lady Harribel, I… if you want me to change this, then I will." her voice and tone dropped drastically at the last sentence but she didn't dare drop her eye contact with the Espada.

The drop didn't go unnoticed as the Espada looked back to her. "I can't…"

"Lady Harribel, my needs come secondary to yours." she started. "I hold your opinion above my own. All you have to do is say the word and-"

She stopped in mid-sentence as she watched the woman push herself from the table and moved to close the space between them; her hands hatched roughly onto her jaw before the touch instantly softened just seconds later. "I will not tolerate this kind of view. This is between you and him; my or anyone else's involvement in this is secondary to none and should be seen as such. I cannot allow for you to harm yourself just because of my reaction… that would not be fair to him."

"Y-yes ma'am." she stammered slightly before the woman released her. "I… I should probably go to speak with him."

"Does he at least know?" Harribel questioned.

"Yes, he was the first person I told." Mila Rose nodded; part of her slightly hesitant in telling the reigning Espada that she had been holding something out on her but the woman seemed to handle it fairly well.

"He didn't come with you?"

"I didn't tell him I was going to speak with you today."

Harribel nodded. "And I thank you for that however… I believe it would be in your best interest if you were to remain inside for the next few days on a minor lockdown."

"What? Why?"

The Espada sighed and placed a hand on her darker shoulder. "Because, Mila Rose, I don't believe the other half is going to be pleased with this kind of news and as I said before, I cannot allow for anything or anyone to compromise your physical health… any more than it already has been."

"I understand Lady Harribel but I was hoping to see him again today and-"

"Mila Rose, I'm going to try my best to avoid any intervention at this point and in doing so, it would be better for me to handle it when I know exactly where you are. I know it seems unfair and I apologize for the strict actions but… for now, I ask that you listen to me and follow my orders."

"… Yes, Lady Harribel."

**XXX**

_He held her for the longest time as they both stood out in the nighttime desert. She had her hands curled into his back; bundling the white material of his uniform between her fingers. Her head was tucked into his shoulder as she slowly drew in and released his scent. It didn't feel real. Her entire body felt numb and… empty._

_This couldn't be happening._

_It was impossible._

"_Talk to me." he whispered; hands slowly caressing the soft flesh of her back. "Say something."_

"_I can't…" she started. "If I talk about it… it turns into reality."_

_He stopped for a moment before he carefully tightened his arms and pulled her in closer. It was dangerous. This situation put them both in a predicament and more than likely it would backfire on one of them or both. But… that didn't stop him from thinking about it. "A reality I'd like to see."_

_Her fingers dug in deeper at his words before she slowly pushed herself from him; her eyes searching for his own, which seemed to be purposely trying to avoid her. "What did you say?" _

"_I…"_

_She released her hands from him completely and watched as he seemed lost without some form of contact between them. "Maybe you're the one who should talk to me."_

"_You and I both know what this could do." he started; keeping his voice low as though in the miles of emptiness around them, there was someone eavesdropping on their conversation. "It's dangerous and… I can't exactly predict what reactions would be to it. But somehow that doesn't stop me from being curious about it… I'm sorry."_

"_Don't be…" she replied as she reached out and carefully took his hands into her own. "I guess it would be a lie to say I haven't done the same. It's… dangerous but exhilarating at the same time. I'm not sure if I can correctly explain it but… I want to live that reality too."_

**xxx**

The afternoon hour found her lounging about in her bed. Partly engulfed by pillows, she stared out at the blank wall in front of her; watching for nothing in particular, other than some way to talk herself out of this 'lockdown' Lady Harribel put her on. It would be pointless to argue it though. She knew exactly why she did it and she knew it was safer to just stay here, where Lady Harribel had a better chance at protecting her. The problem more than likely lied with Nnoitra, which really no one could argue that as a fact. He would probably be less than… thrilled about the news and that in itself may or may not trigger some kind of outburst. Hence why Lady Harribel would want her here under some kind of supervision, not to mention Nnoitra wouldn't dare show up here- unless he was looking for a confrontation, which actually he probably would be.

But damnit, she just wanted to go out and see him at least one more time before Lady Harribel got serious about this- not to say that she wasn't already. Why separate her from the father of her child? It wasn't like he would do anything threatening towards her, but then again it always came back to the whole Nnoitra thing. Letting a long, dragged sigh, she stretched slightly across the sheets and made the move to slowly rotate her body in the other direction; just barely turning in time to see the figure in midair above her. The bed squeaked harshly at the sudden weight and the countered force just about tossed her over the edge and to the floor; she barely managed to catch herself on the bedside table to prevent herself from falling completely.

"Apache!" she shouted; rolling back in time to slam the toe of her foot into the other woman's abdomen. She watched as the shorter woman was easily kicked off the bed and listened to the sound of her body striking the floor with enough force to cause her to bounce slightly. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I couldn't remember the last time your bed was so quiet so I thought someone died in it." the woman spat as she carefully picked herself up from the floor; one hand rubbed at the sore spot at the back of her skull. "What the fuck is your deal?"

"Imbecile." SunSun muttered from the doorway.

"You shut up! You're going to be next!" Apache snapped.

Mila Rose snorted at the two as she pushed herself up from her now messed up bed. "What do you want?"

"Oh you know, I'm just bored and Lady Harribel isn't in." Apache answered sarcastically.

"I am going to wring your little throat."

SunSun rolled her eyes slightly. "Lady Harribel has advised us to stay in while she went to handle something. We were curious by the command but she wouldn't tell us before she left, so we thought that you might know something."

"Yeah well… that's stupid to think." Mila Rose muttered.

"You're lying." Apache sneered.

"And you're stupid."

"I'm going to punch you in the face!"

"You don't come anywhere near me." Mila Rose warned; watching as the deer seemed to stiffen at the words but kept that sneer of hers. She glanced over to SunSun for a moment before she turned her eyes away from both of them. "Yeah, I might know… 'something' about it. So what?"

"Well you know something that we don't know and… we would like to know… preferably now." Apache advised.

"It's… it's a long story."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Completely forgot to upload this chapter earlier. I had set myself up on a schedule and still somehow managed to skip a day. Anyways this should be wrapped up in two or three more chapters (still haven't figured out if I wanted to expand it or not, more likely not.) Thanks for the reviews. **

"So you're-"

"Yes.

"And he's-"

"Yes."

Apache sat back slightly against the headboard as she watched the cinnamon-skinned woman hug a pillow to her chest. A low whistle passed her lips as she cocked her head slightly. "Well uh… that is very interesting. And here I just assumed we were all sterile."

"It would be better if some of us were." SunSun commented.

"You're talking about Luppi, right?" Apache sneered; watching as the snake glared in her direction. "I mean, I don't blame you. I think the world would be safer if Ggio was sterile as well. There would be a lot less problems to deal with, I can assure you that."

"If you guys are going to classify this as a 'problem', then you can leave." Mila Rose muttered. "Your asses found your way in here, so you can find your way back out."

"Alright, alright, we didn't mean to… 'label' it like that. We were just saying- you know what, never mind, forget what we were saying." Apache scrapped. "I mean, I'm caught up on whether I need to be rude about this or supportive. Although I guess he's a pretty nice guy- at least he doesn't try to grab at your breasts every few seconds."

She groaned before she reached over and shoved the woman clean off the bed once more. "You know, if you have to think on it, then you should probably just leave before I do some damage."

"Watch yourself, preggie." Apache groaned.

"So Lady Harribel left because…" SunSun started.

"I don't know, she didn't really tell me she was leaving either." Mila Rose sighed. "She just told me I couldn't leave. Although I guess I'm assuming she went off to… solve some things. I just don't want to think about it right now."

"Well you know, if you two hadn't have gone off like 'crossbreeding heretics-'" Apache started as she pulled herself up along the bed.

Without missing a beat, the lioness took the pillow in her lap and tossed it into the woman's face; hitting her with enough force to knock her back to the floor. "One more word out of you and the next thing I hit you with will be my fist."

* * *

She could almost feel the overwhelming sense of dread filling up her chest as she approached the different housing wing. She rarely left her own room with the exception for meetings and the occasional leisurely walk, and now she was here of all places. Her hatred for the Fifth Espada was momentarily displaced, not willingly and not easily, but if she wanted to get through this 'situation' then she needed to hit it hard and hit it now. Hopefully her energy wasn't radiating too much to catch his attention but just the thought of having to talk to him dug underneath her skin.

A low groan left her as she approached the front door and slowly brought her fist to the surface. She knocked maybe once or twice, to be honest she really just imagined the door to be his face and hit it as many times as she could. The sound of the door unlocking barely caught her attention and left her slightly halfway through a knock before the door was pulled open.

That feeling of dread almost disappeared completely when it was only the blonde-haired Fracción member standing on the other side of the door. Instead, it was replaced by something else… a feeling she couldn't exactly describe right now. And by the slight displaced expression on his face, he didn't seem to pleased to see her either.

"Lady Harribel… is there something I can help you with?" he questioned.

"Nnoitra. Where is he?"

"He's not in right now. He and Grimmjow left a few minutes before-"

"That's all I needed to know." she interrupted as she started to turn back. "I will simply have to speak with him later."

"May I ask what the matter is that needs to be discussed with him?"

The question made her pause slightly in her steps as she turned back towards him. Part of her wanted to say something and the other part- hell at this point, she didn't even bother with the other options. She stepped back towards him and without so much as a blink, brought the back of her hand sharply across his face. His head snapped to one side from the force, which emitted the actual sound of flesh striking flesh, but he recovered quickly from the hit and seemed to act as though it never even happened.

"I apologize Lady Harribel, that was not my place to ask."

"I would say it was not my place to strike you either but in certain circumstances, I will allow some lines to be blurred in my favor." she started. "I will speak to Nnoitra first and then I will speak with you. There are a lot of matters here that need to be discussed but the order of which they are taken care of is critical in this case."

For the first time, she watched as his expression changed drastically from one of almost emotionless stature to one that reflected a more concerned look.

"She told you then."

"Did you expect her to keep a secret from me?" she questioned.

"No, of course not." Tesla spoke. "Lady Harribel, I-"

"Like I said before, I will speak with Nnoitra first… and then I'm going to come after you."

* * *

"So… what are you going to name it? How far are you along anyways? And how come we're just figuring out about this now?"

The abundance of questions only seemed to make her oncoming migraine ring worse. "We could barely even get past the whole 'pregnancy' thing and you're asking us if we've already gotten a name? We don't even know what gender it's going to be. I'm only like… I don't know, two months maybe?"

"Two months? Why the hell didn't you say anything sooner?" Apache remarked.

"Because it's not always the first thing that comes to mind when I'm sick." Mila Rose snapped back. "Sorry if the thought of a possible pregnancy doesn't cross my mind every time I get a head cold."

"That's different. If it's been going on for two months, you should've known something was up."

"It was on and off." she explained. "It wasn't ever really constant and besides, I just blamed most of the headaches and migraines on you, so sorry if a pregnancy didn't exactly make the top of my 'illness' list."

The deer snorted slightly and shook her head in light agitation. "Well since you know for certain now… how exactly are you planning on breaking this to him?"

"He already knows."

"Does Nnoitra know?"

"Well… no, not yet but-"

"You're going to be a single mother."

She groaned and set a hand to her forehead. "I don't even want to think about it."

"Hell Nnoitra gets pissed at even the thought of someone pulling some kind of weird shit on him, let alone the actual news of his own Fracción getting a bitch knocked up- oh no wait, that's not what I meant to say-" Apache started and quickly ended.

"Is that what you really think of me?" Mila Rose questioned with a snap.

"No, not really, I just… what? You think I'm prepared to have something to say in situations like this? I'm lucky enough if I can get through a serious conversation with Ggio and you're expecting me to make it through something of this magnitude?" Apache retorted sharply. "I just… I don't have anything to say."

"Great, then you can sit over there in silence." she snapped.

"I would say something horribly sarcastic and/or cruel but… from the looks of it, there's enough to stress about in this situation without my help to further that cause." SunSun started.

"You can sit over there in silence too."

"Okay, okay, let's calm down and start over." Apache sighed as she leaned back against the headboard once more; this time at a slightly further distance from the woman. "So you're pregnant by two months. Tesla is the father and at least he knows. Everyone else… not so much. I mean, what do you say to someone when they're pregnant?"

"I can tell you what not to say." Mila Rose offered. "Other than that, I would just greatly appreciate it if you got out of my sight right now."

"Well hey, I'm trying to be supportive here." Apache spoke.

"Apparently you're not trying hard enough."

The three glanced up at the voice and watched as the cinnamon-toned Espada stood in the open doorway; arms crossed underneath her breasts as usual as she slowly stepped inside.

"I apologize for my lack of efforts, Lady Harribel, but what am I supposed to say then?" Apache questioned.

"Exactly opposite of what you say in that little head of yours."

"Or really anything in that head of yours. You best just not say anything." SunSun advised.

"I will rip that forked tongue out of that dumb mouth of yours." Apache snapped.

"Perhaps it's about time for the three of you to try and… act decent towards one another." Harribel suggested. "Or at least, become less violent towards one another for the time being."

"I can still beat up SunSun though, right? I mean as long as I stay away from Preggo." Apache started.

"I'll kill you." Mila Rose muttered.

"No killing. I have no desire to clean up blood at the moment." Harribel warned. "There will be plenty of it later."

"What's that supposed to mean?" both Apache and Mila Rose questioned.

She let out a long, rough sigh and uncrossed her arms. "It could mean a lot of things right now and maybe nothing in the future but… anything and everything is possible. If he doesn't fight for you, I will."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, sometimes I wonder why I don't try harder to do more with this couple. **

The strike from the Third Espada still rang harshly across his cheek; the skin more than likely to bruise within the hour. Her appearance wasn't entirely… unsuspected but the timing of it was what caught him off-guard. He couldn't really blame her for telling her reigning Espada, he just kind of wished he had had a heads up on it. Maybe some kind of warning, he supposed, not to say that she really needed his permission for it… Which left it up to him to hold up his half… something he wasn't entirely looking forward to. He didn't know how Master Nnoitra would react to it but part of him knew it wasn't going to go over too well. Not that he knew exactly how the pregnancy was going to upset him but he knew better than to expect a smooth transition.

He glanced up at the sound of the door opening and then slamming close. Master Nnoitra must be back from his outing with Grimmjow- he didn't know exactly where the two went but more than likely it was just out to kill some of the roaming hollows in the distance hills. He would've gone with him but he was specifically ordered to stay here and he knew better than to cross Nnoitra's command. It was now or never, right? Perhaps it was better to get it over with now when the two of them were just involved… he didn't want to break the news if Mila Rose was anywhere close by. He didn't know what his reaction would be but he didn't want to push it. He would be able to take a hit; she wouldn't.

"Anything happen while I was gone?"

"Lady Harribel dropped by earlier." he started to answer; stopping as he caught that slight sneer on the Espada's face. The two had never been able to get along and were at each other's throats whenever given the chance. "She said there was a matter she wished to speak with you about but she wouldn't rely any information about it."

"Who gives a fuck. She probably just dropped by to bitch some more about absolutely shit." Nnoitra retorted as he slowly disappeared into the next room.

Part of him wanted to just let the Espada walk away but he doubted there would be another chance between now and when Lady Harribel returned. "Actually… there is another matter I wished to speak to you about regarding something… important."

"You have three seconds to get my attention; after that, you're just wasting my time."

* * *

"I dropped by to speak to Nnoitra a few moments ago-"

"What did he say? What did you say?"

"He wasn't there." Harribel started. "However… Tesla was and I gave him a minor 'briefing' on what to expect."

"Did you threaten him?" Mila Rose questioned.

"Something along those lines, yes." she spoke; watching as the darker toned Fracción seemed just slightly upset by the answer. "I said I would speak to him after I was through with Nnoitra; in fact, I will be speaking to both of you but… that can always wait."

"SunSun, Apache, can you two leave? I want to speak to Lady Harribel alone for a moment." Mila Rose started.

"What am I supposed to do then?" Apache scoffed.

"I don't care. Go fuck Ggio if you want." the lioness spat.

The woman seemed to think it over for a moment before she shook her head. "I'm not really in the mood right now, but… I guess I could go see what he's up to." slowly, she pushed herself off the bed and started out of the room. "Or I could go fuck up SunSun's room."

"I will break your legs and strangle you with them." SunSun threatened as she slowly followed after the running deer.

Harribel watched carefully as the other two left before she turned her sights to the troubled woman. "What is it that you need?"

"I just… I want you to stop treating me like a child." Mila Rose started. "I… I got myself into this; this was all unplanned but ultimately it's my decision and I… I want you to respect that just a bit more. I know you're just trying to be protective, I understand that, but… I need to be able to go see him and talk with him. You don't want me to be in this by myself, do you?"

"No."

"I never was but if you keep… cutting me off from him-"

"Mila Rose, it is not my intention to 'cut you off' from him; I'm trying to cut you off from the obvious danger that's involved in this. You know as well as myself the different possibilities and outcomes of this situation. I just want to make sure you get the best one. Of all the people that has to be involved in this-"

"Apache and Ggio are always running around and doing who knows what- aside from the obvious. But what if she was in my situation? Then you would have to deal with Baraggan, who is needless to say above your ranking, so you wouldn't have as much say or power as you do now."

"Where are you going with this?"

"This situation could be worse, it could be better or… it could not exist at all, but I can't change what happened or who's involved with it now."

"This situation is out of your control… and you're too hard headed to accept that." Harribel sighed. "I will… allow you-" she didn't even get the chance to finish her sentence as the Fraccion member was already halfway out the room. "But I have to be present."

"Still fearing for my safety?"

"That and the fact that my presence wasn't more intact is really one reason why we're in this situation." She replied as she slowly started after the woman.

"Where are you two going?" Apache questioned; half shouting from down the hallway where SunSun had her pinned to the wall but where she had her fists tangled in the woman's longer hair.

"To deal with something." Harribel answered. "You can leave as you please but for my health, don't go off to visit any of the male members around here."

"Does Ggio still count? He kind of looks like a chick-"

"So then you kind of look like a lesbian."

"Like you can say anything SunSun! Luppi looks like your twin!"

Harribel shook her head and placed a hand on Mila Rose's shoulder as she slowly began to guide her down the corridor. "On second thought, maybe it would be safer if you two stayed inside and away from each other."

"Ew gross no, SunSun might try to hit on me."

"You should worry about me strangling you first."

* * *

"Lady Harribel, I was thinking…"

"Well there is a lot to think about." Harribel nodded as the two found their way down along the corridor that unfortunately lead them back towards the housing of the Fifth. She had just left moments ago but if her Fraccion so desired to be here… then she really had no choice but to follow her. Under the circumstances, she was in no way comfortable with leaving the woman alone outside of her personal wing. It would be rather difficult for the lioness to accept, seeing as she didn't seem to enjoy being followed about with no privacy but she assumed within the next few months the woman would rather stay inside anyways.

"Do we… tell Aizen about this?"

"No." Harribel answered sharply; glancing back behind her towards her Fraccion member for a moment. "He may like to assume he has power over us but only the ten of us that were chosen. You are exempt from his ruling and I will make sure of that. He has nothing to do with this situation- no one has the right to say anything about this that will contradict your decision."

She had heard the woman speak of distaste for the former Shinigami Captain but the fact that she outright forbid his involvement, or anyone else's involvement, was something new to her; although it seemed as though she was working on forbidding everyone's involvement, including the father. But, she wouldn't deny that it did make her feel a bit better about the situation; at least for once, she felt like she was in complete control of what happened and had the power to make her own decision and uphold it.

"Thank you Lady Harribel."

"Don't thank me yet, I haven't even started to speak with you. Or him either for that fact."

"Go easy on him." She started before she paused about the same time Harribel did. She watched as the woman seemed focused on observing something for a moment before she reached back and pushed her behind her. The motion caught her off-guard and caused her to stumble slightly into the nearest wall for support. She caught herself on her forearms before she glanced back in time to see the rush of energy that escaped in front of them. The wall a few yards in front of them exploded into pieces as a cloud of dust and debris shot itself down the shape of the corridor; small bits of concrete blocks seemed to bounce lightly off her skin as the explosion was up and over in just seconds.

"Nnoitra, just what are you doing?" Harribel questioned; taking every ounce of strength to not ultimately compromise the situation by losing her temper in front of the male Espada.

The Fifth seemed to sneer at her question. "Last time I checked, whatever I wanted with no reason whatsoever. Why? Got a problem with it?"

"I'm not looking to turn this into a 'problem' but I'd like to throw it out right now that this conversation will be involved between just you and I. Should you choose to throw someone else into this conversation, don't think I won't hesitate to pull rank."

"Surprise, surprise, and here I thought you were just a pretty bitch for everyone to look at it."

She could literally feel Lady Harribel's energy rise slightly before she caught a hold of herself. Stepping back, she watched as the woman moved forward a bit to cut the Espada off from her and isolate the two. She could already tell this wasn't going to end well… but if Nnoitra was there, then where was Tesla?


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: As of now, this is the last chapter. I never really figured out if I wanted it to end here or push it on for another two or three chapters. It's one of those ideas that's perfect for just five chapters but it feels like it could go on for longer; it kind of feels like there could be more to it but for now I'm going to resist pushing it on. Maybe I'll visit it again another day and change my mind.**

"_This wasn't supposed to happen… I'm so sorry."_

"_Shh… don't cry; everything's going to be okay…"_

It felt like one moment she was holding his bleeding form in her arms and the next… she was watching him walk out of the healers' room as though nothing had even happened. The sudden eruption between Nnoitra and Lady Harribel had gathered so much energy some of the other Espadas dropped by to see what had happened. Grimmjow more than likely only showed up to see a fight, while Starrk probably dropped in to see what was ruining his nap.

But that had been hours ago now.

She didn't know how the argument ended or if it even did; she just wanted to get out of there before something else bad happened. She just wanted to get him out of there before things got worse.

And here they were now, sitting in one of the many lounging rooms that occupied the mighty fortress that was Los Noches itself. She never took her eyes off of him while he seemed to find more importance in working out the slight knot in the back his neck. Eventually she worked down his defense till he gave in and brought his eye up to match her own; several blood vessels were broken underneath the clear surface of his eye and bled out to stain nearly half of it red.

"What do you want me to say?"

She only shook her head lightly and brought her hands to rest on top of his. "I just… I want you to say you're okay."

A coarse sigh escaped him as he watched her carefully; there was no denying the hardened, yet almost scared expression in those green eyes of hers. She tried to make up for the weakness with her strict, almost glare but… it wasn't working out too well for her. She was seated only a few inches in front of him and yet it felt like there was too much space between them. "I'm fine." he started as he carefully reached forward just enough to brush aside a loose lock of hair.

"I just don't understand why you-"

"We've been through this discussion before, you know why."

Yeah she knew but that didn't mean she wanted to admit defeat on it just yet. She was hoping to make the battle linger a bit longer till she was at least getting something more out of it. But she knew better than that. There was no sense in trying. "I know."

"I'm sorry that the situation has to be like this but… I can't change it."

"I know." she repeated. "I just don't want to be in this alone."

Those few words seemed to wrench at the missing organ in his chest as he brought his hands up to cup her cheeks; he pulled her forward just enough to press her forehead into his own. "No one said you were going to be and you won't. I promise."

"I want to believe that…" she started as she moved her hands to grace his jawline. "I really do."

"What am I doing wrong?" he questioned; searching her eyes for an answer.

"I don't know… for all I know, I'm the one doing something wrong." she replied. "I wish I could do something about it but it just feels like everything isn't working out like I thought it would. I mean, I expected problems but… now that they're actually here, I find myself doubting my ability to handle them."

"I'm going to be with you every step of the way." he whispered. "I'm not letting you do this alone; I refuse to."

She felt just a bit of weight lift off her shoulders at the words as she leaned in just a bit more to brush her lips against his own. "You know, most guys would've ran off in this kind of situation."

"Hmm maybe." he chuckled lightly. "But I figured I was pushing my luck enough by courting you, anything else that followed would be worth it."

"I still remember those times." she replied; chuckling herself at the memories. "We were reckless and naïve… and nothing has changed from that."

"Good. I like it this way." he remarked as he drew her in for a deeper embrace.

"Are they making out yet?"

"It's about time."

"You're such a weirdo." Apache snorted as she crossed her arms and looked in on the sight. It wasn't like she wanted to be here, but after all the commotion from before she didn't have anything else to do. Or at least, anything better to do other than randomly stroll around Los Noches and see if anything interesting found her. But no, she only ran into this and to be honest, it wasn't the first time she had ran into it and it certainly wasn't the worst either.

"Yeah well, you drug me over here so I at least want to make it worth my while." Menoly replied as she peeked in from the other side of the doorway.

"You probably just wanted to see someone other than Loly and Aaroniero getting some." Apache remarked. "But then again, if I had to witness that every other day for the rest of my life, I would get pretty bored of it quick. However, I have to deal with this on a daily basis and it's only going to get worse from here."

"Maybe but at least you know from this output that nothing too bad is going to happen. With Loly and Aaroniero, you never know; one minute they're holding hands, the next they're both stripping off clothing. It's like there's no transitions whatsoever." Menoly shrugged. "And they do it everywhere-"

"Now would be a good time to stop this conversation." Apache interrupted.

"You started it. Just sayin'."

"Yeah well… you took it too far."

The blonde-haired woman rolled her eyes playfully at the remark as she turned her attention back to the romancing couple. "You're probably jealous."

"Not really, I mean Ggio's not the best kisser but he's good in bed, so it evens out." Apache replied. "Besides, I'm sure you wished Grimmjow would do that to you."

"I would much rather cut out my lower regions with a dull knife than be anywhere near that man."

"Is there a reason you two are just standing there or are you just being weird again?" Mila Rose questioned; watching as the two seemed to jump slightly at her voice. "Well from your expressions, I'm going to say you're just being weird again."

"No, we just managed to run into each other in the hallway and then… we managed to run into here. But I can tell that this room is apparently occupied." Apache started before she quickly muttered. "And it's not the only thing either."

"I heard that!"

"Come here." Tesla chuckled as he pulled the dark-skinned woman back towards him. "Ignore her."

"Oh believe me, I've been trying." she snorted.

"Well I guess we can just go and see what other people are up to now." Apache announced loudly as she grabbed Menoly by the arm and started to walk off. "You wanna go prank Shawlong?"

"Hell yeah."

Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to the blonde-haired man in front of her; noticing that he seemed almost amused by their brief encounter. "Just what do you think is so funny?" she questioned teasingly.

"Nothing really." he replied as he dropped his hands to rest on her legs now. "I was just trying to imagine raising a child around Apache and SunSun."

"That sounds something more to cry over than laugh about." she remarked with a small chuckle. "Oh and how it's going to be hell for them… actually this might work out better than I imagined. Although I'm not sure if I just can't imagine or if I don't want to imagine raising it with the occasional visit from Ggio or Luppi."

"That's a scary thought."

"And it only gets scarier the more I think about it."

"Well at least we won't have to worry about that for awhile now." Tesla started.

"Maybe not but I think you'll have plenty to worry about in the meantime."

The two jumped apart at the voice and turned to see Harribel standing in the doorway now.

"Lady Harribel." they both seemed to stammer as they rushed to get to their feet only to stumble slightly as they bumped into one another. He was quick to catch her and steady her footing when her balance almost gave out on her.

"What are you doing here?" she questioned. "I mean… what happened?"

"That's not important right now." Harribel answered. "What's important is that I now have you two alone, which means now would be a good time to finally talk this over." she watched as the two seemed slightly uncomfortable by the remark but nodded back regardless. "I will remark though, despite having your own ribcage crushed into your lungs a few hours ago, you still insist on being around her when by all means, you should be resting."

"Perhaps so, Lady Harribel, but I-"

"There's no need to defend yourself; I'm not attacking you."

"Then may I ask what you are here to discuss?" Mila Rose questioned slowly.

The Espada sighed lightly and crossed her arms. "This is not an easy matter, we are all aware of this by now. There are going to be a lot of changes, unfortunately a lot of things that need to be changed won't be. But we're certainly here for the long run, so in the meantime, you two will need to work out plans amongst each other while I try to loosen the vital grip that has plagued this situation. I'm going to trust that you two will make the appropriate decisions needed. And… I'm going to trust that you two will also follow through with this together."

"There's a lot to worry about, we understand that Lady Harribel… but the status of our relationship should be the least of them." Tesla started. "Despite the possible repercussions, I have no intentions of stepping away from this situation."

"Good, because if you had, I would have hunted you down and bled you out till you died of shock." she threatened; watching as he took note of the curse but showed little outside reaction to it. "Now then, if you'll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to that desire my attention. Feel free to stay here as long as you wish, but I expect you back in your quarters by nightfall."

"Yes ma'am." she nodded before she watched as the Espada gave one more look at the two of them before she disappeared back out into the corridor. She let out a long held breath before she allowed herself to collapse back into her previous seat. "I keep getting the feeling that we've gotten off easy this entire time."

"Truth be told, we have." he replied as he returned to his seat across from her before he leaned in just enough to cup her chin. "But even if it was any other way, it wouldn't change us."

"It would if you were dead."

"Stop that." he chuckled as he pulled her in for a kiss.


End file.
